Bacterial Count

The eggs treatment process is one from which the result of incubation largely depends. In incubation for eggs disinfection are used different methods that affect the bacterial load. Choosing the most effective methods of eggs disinfection will depend on how used substances will influence on embryonic and postembryonic development of poultry. Currently the use of substances having disinfectant effect which would not have negative influence during embryonic and postembryonic development is one of the latest trends. As an alternative to chemical treatment methods it was proposed the use of propolis extract in hens’ egg incubation. The aim of research was to determine the influence of propolis extract on hatching indices used in incubation of hens’ eggs. At the end of the experience and data recording there was established that the maximum index of eggs hatchability was received as a result of using as a disinfectant the propolis extract in an amount of 2 ml/70 ml of water and 4 ml/70 m...

Comparative quality evaluation of organic and conventional milk produced in similar environmental condition was performed. Bulk-tank milk was sampled once a week during 30 weeks from 10 organic and 10 conventional dairy farms where aflatoxin M1 level was previous tested during 11 months on bulk-tank milk from tanker at the processing plant. Somatic Cells and Total Microbial Counts did not show differences that can be related to the organic production system, suggesting an effect induced by farm size and technical factors. Higher level of Aflatoxin M1 was found in organic than conventional milk.

Samples of raw meat prior to roasting, and tsire-suya were analyzed bacteriologically for total viable, coliform, staphylococcal counts and the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The sensitivity of the bacterial isolates to some antibiotics and spices was evaluated. The total viable count varied from 20x10 to 289x10 cfu/g for the raw meat and 7x10 2 2 2 to 171x10 cfu/g for the tsire-suya. The coliform count was 4x10 to 71x10 cfu/g for the raw meat and 1x10 to 42x10 for the tsire-suya while the staphylococcal count ranged from 1x10 to 60x10 cfu/g for the raw meat 2 2 2 and 1x10 to 12x10 cfu/g for tsire-suya. From results obtained, bacterial count was higher in raw meat than 2 2 in tsire-suya. P. aeruginosa, B. cereus, S. aureus, and E. coli, were isolated from the raw meat and tsire-suya. The isolates were sensitive to some of the antibiotics and spices tested. However, E. coli was only sensitive to gentamicin. While P. aeruginosa on the other hand was resistant to Afromomum melegueta, Piper quinense and Capsicum fructescens, the three spices tested for this study. The incidence of the isolated bacteria in tsire-suya, a ready-to-eat meat product in Nigeria is of health significance.

Introduction: Culture-negative sepsis is a common but relatively understudied condition. The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics and outcomes of culture-negative versus culture-positive severe sepsis. Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study of 1001 patients who were admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital from 2004 to 2009 with severe sepsis. Patients with documented fungal, viral, and parasitic infections were excluded. Results: There were 415 culture-negative patients (41.5%) and 586 culture-positive patients (58.5%). Gram-positive bacteria were isolated in 257 patients, and gram-negative bacteria in 390 patients. Culture-negative patients were more often women and had fewer comorbidities, less tachycardia, higher blood pressure, lower procalcitonin levels, lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (median 25.0 (interquartile range 19.0 to 32.0) versus 27.0 (21.0 to 33.0), P = 0.001) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores, less cardiovascular, central nervous system, and coagulation failures, and less need for vasoactive agents than culture-positive patients. The lungs were a more common site of infection, while urinary tract, soft tissue and skin infections, infective endocarditis and primary bacteremia were less common in culture-negative than in culture-positive patients. Culture-negative patients had a shorter duration of hospital stay (12 days (7.0 to 21.0) versus 15.0 (7.0 to27.0), P = 0.02) and lower ICU mortality than culture-positive patients. Hospital mortality was lower in the culture-negative group (35.9%) than in the culture-positive group (44.0%, P = 0.01), the culture-positive subgroup, which received early appropriate antibiotics (41.9%, P = 0.11), and the culture-positive subgroup, which did not (55.5%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, culture positivity was not independently associated with mortality on multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Significant differences between culture-negative and culture-positive sepsis are identified, with the former group having fewer comorbidities, milder severity of illness, shorter hospitalizations, and lower mortality.

Artificial cornea transplantation, keratoprosthesis, improves vision for patients at high risk of failure with human cadaveric cornea. However, post-operative infection can cause visual loss and implant extrusion in 3.2-17% of eyes. Long-term vancomycin drops are recommended following keratoprosthesis to prevent bacterial keratitis. Evidence, though, in support of this practice is poor. We investigated whether prophylactic vancomycin drops prevented bacterial keratitis in an animal keratoprosthesis model. Twenty-three rabbits were assigned either to a prophylactic group (n = 13) that received vancomycin 1.4% drops 5 times/day from keratoprosthesis implantation to sacrifice, or a non-prophylactic group (n = 10) that received no drops. All rabbits had Staphylococcus aureus inoculation into the cornea at 7-12 days post-implantation and were sacrificed at predetermined time-points. Prophylactic and non-prophylactic groups were compared with slit-lamp photography (SLP), anterior segment ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of power ultrasound on the microbiota of chicken meat. Samples were treated under the following conditions of frequency and power: 20 kHz and 27.6 W/cm 2 ; 40 kHz and 10.3 W/cm 2 ; 850 kHz and 24.1 W/cm 2. Microbial counts were done before the ultrasound treatment, immediately after and following 7 days of aerobic storage at 4 °C. The results indicate that high intensity ultrasound helps inhibit the growth of lactic acid, mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria present in chicken meat at the ultrasound frequency levels used in this study. The number of mesophilic bacteria decreased with the ultrasound probe at 20 kHz and 27.6 W/cm 2 in relation to the treatment with higher frequency and less intensity. On conclusion, high-intensity ultrasound has a bactericidal effect. Therefore, it can be useful in the preservation of meat products and thus play an important role in the food industry.

Background There are several methods for quantitating bacterial cells, each with advantages and disadvantages. The most common method is bacterial plating, which has the advantage of allowing live cell assessment through colony forming unit (CFU) counts but is not well suited for high throughput screening (HTS). On the other hand, spectrophotometry is adaptable to HTS applications but does not differentiate between dead and living bacteria and has low sensitivity. Results Here, we report a bacterial cell counting method termed Start Growth Time (SGT) that allows rapid and serial quantification of the absolute or relative number of live cells in a bacterial culture in a high throughput manner. We combined the methodology of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) calculations with a previously described qualitative method of bacterial growth determination to develop an improved quantitative method. We show that SGT detects only live bacteria and is sensitive enough to different...

As the preparation of salads involves extensive handling and the use of uncooked ingredients, they are particularly vulnerable to microbial contamination. This study aimed to determine the microbial safety and quality of pre-packed salads and salad bar ingredients sold in Singapore, so as to identify public health risks that could arise from consuming salads and to determine areas for improvement in the management of food safety. The most frequently encountered organism in pre-packed salad samples was B. cereus, particularly in pasta salads (33.3%, 10/30). The most commonly detected organism in salad bar ingredients was L. monocytogenes, in particular seafood ingredients (44.1%, 15/34), largely due to contaminated smoked salmon. Further investigation showed that 21.6% (37/171) of the pre-packed smoked salmon sold in supermarkets contained L. monocytogenes. Significantly higher prevalence of L. monocytogenes and higher Standard Plate Count were detected in smoked salmon at salad bars...

Background. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of linezolid in an experimental mediastinitis model and to compare it with vancomycin, which is commonly used. The objective of this study was also to evaluate the role of the immune system in mediastinitis. Materials and methods. Fifty adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: an uncontaminated and contaminated untreated control groups; a group that received sefazolin prophylaxis; and two groups treated with vancomycin or linezolid. Median sternotomy without access to pleural spaces was performed on all rats. All groups, except the uncontaminated one, were inoculated with 0.5 mL 10 8 colony-forming units/mL methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the mediastinal and sternal layers. Postoperatively, vancomycin and linezolid groups were given antibiotic treatment for 7 d, starting 24 h after the end of the procedure. After 7-d treatment tissue samples from the upper ends of the sternotomy line and mediastinum were obtained and evaluated microbiologically. Additionally, serum, heart, lung, liver, kidney, and mediastinal tissues samples were obtained to determine malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO). Results. The study showed that either vancomycin or linezolid successfully reduced bacterial counts in mediastinum and sternotomy line. MDA and MPO levels were found to be decreased in the treated groups. There was a positive correlation between serum and tissues MDA and MPO in all of the groups. Conclusions. Our study showed that linezolid appears to be a promising option for treating mediastinitis due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Additionally, it was demonstrated that a wide inflammatory process occurred after mediastinitis.

We used an experimental rat model to compare the therapeutic efficacy of teicoplanin, linezolid, and quinupristin/dalfopristin with that of vancomycin as standard therapy for infective endocarditis.Aortic endocarditis was induced in rats by insertion of a polyethylene catheter into the left ventricle, followed by intravenous inoculation of 106 colony-forming units of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus 24 hours later. Forty-eight hours after bacterial challenge, intravenous antibiotic therapies were initiated. There were 6 groups of 8 rats each: uninfected control; infected, untreated control; vancomycin-treated (40 mg/kg twice daily); teicoplanin-treated (20 mg/kg twice daily after a loading dose of 40 mg/kg); linezolid-treated (75 mg/kg 3 times daily for 1 day, then 75 mg/kg twice daily); and quinupristin/dalfopristin-treated (30 mg/kg twice daily and an additional 10 mg/kg dalfopristin infusion over 6 to 12 hr daily). At the end of therapy, the aortic valve vegetations in the drug-treated rats were evaluated microbiologically.Compared with the infected, untreated group, all drug-treated groups had significantly reduced bacterial titers in the vegetations. Vancomycin, teicoplanin, and quinupristin/dalfopristin all effectively reduced the quantitative bacterial cultures of aortic valve vegetations. In addition, there was no significant difference in the comparative efficacy of teicoplanin, linezolid, and quinupristin/dalfopristin. Vancomycin significantly reduced bacterial counts in comparison with linezolid, which was nonetheless also effective.Our experimental model showed that each of the investigated antimicrobial agents was effective in the treatment of infective endocarditis.

Although rapid detection kits continue to be developed and used, the classical culture method is still accepted as a gold standard. Therefore accelerating the classical culture methods safely is important for the detection of Campylobacter. The aim of this study is to design and compare a novel developed medium with other confirmed media in naturally and experimentally contaminated food matrices. Besides classical culture methods, it is subjected to qPCR and FISH methods. In this study, Campylobacter counts are investigated in spiked milk, chicken breast meat, cumin, minced beef meat, celery and tomato puree. Also to evaluate the enrichment medium in naturally contaminated samples, Campylobacter detection is performed in 20 chicken neck skin samples obtained from different sales points. The study showed that the novel broth provides a faster detectable number of Campylobacter. It was found to provide detectable Campylobacter counts after eight hours of inoculation. The results have shown that there is a significant increase on Campylobacter count in the detection performed using the spiked foods. Furthermore, the entire natural contaminated chicken neck skin samples are found to be positive the same as the other mediums. As a result of the study, in the classic culture methods, designed enrichment medium is faster than the currently used enrichment mediums. It is an important point of view to develop fast and reliable diagnostic methods for assuring adequate public health.

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of spraying fertile eggs of Dandarawi chicken local strain with natural white vinegar solution (NWVS) on embryonic development, physiological parameters, hatchability, post-hatch chick growth and bacterial quantity on eggshell surface. Four hundred and fifty hatching eggs of Dandarawi chicken local strain were randomly distributed into five groups of 90 eggs each. Eggs of the 1 st group were served as a control (non-treated eggs). The 2 nd group was sprayed with water as a vehicle (positive control). Eggs of the 3 rd , 4 th and 5 th groups were sprayed with three concentrations of vinegar: 1.25, 2.5 and 5%, respectively. Results showed that embryo weight, embryonic and shank lengths as well as, chick body weight, chick and shank lengths and hatchability tended to be Significantly higher (P<0.05) in eggs treated with natural white vinegar solution when compared with control eggs. While albumen weight ratio, egg shell thickness, egg weight loss ratio at 18 th day of development, embryonic mortality and hatch time were significantly (P<0.05) decreased in eggs sprayed with natural white vinegar solution when compared with control eggs. Blood constituents: RBCs, Hb and PCV%, plasma total protein, albumin, total lipids, P, Ca and T4, GH hormones were significantly increased (p<0.05), while plasma cholesterol and glucose were decreased. There was no effect on WBCs count compared to control. Internal organs of chicks at hatch and growth performance of chicks at 14 th days of age recorded significant higher values and improved feed conversion in response to spraying with natural white vinegar solution but yolk residual of chicks at hatch was less than control group. The use of natural white vinegar solution had significant influence on TBC and T. StaPhly. C.on egg shell surface either at one week or after two weeks of incubation compared to control groups. These results indicated that spraying fertile eggs of chicken (pre-incubation) with natural white vinegar solution as natural disinfectants is a good way to improve embryonic development, blood constituents, hormones, hatchability and performance of chicks.

Control of microorganisms on hatching eggshell surface requires an effective disinfectant to kill the pathogens without injury to the live chick embryo. The present experiment was carried out to study the effect of hatching egg sanitization time by different disinfectants on some hatchability parameters. A total of 600 broiler breeder fertile eggs from a commercial broiler strain (Saso) aged 35 wk were reared on a deep litter system at a private farm in Gharbiya Governorate, Egypt. All eggs were randomly divided into three treatment groups of 200 eggs each. The eggs in the first group were kept as a control without treatment. While, the eggs in the second and third groups were subdivided into equal four subgroups treated by Propolis 14%, Ethyl alcohol 70%, TH4 0.5% and Virkon S 0.5 %., respectively, which, they disinfected before 6hrs from egg laying in the second group and disinfected after 6hrs from egg laying in the third group. Results revealed that there was no significant difference in egg weight loss during egg storage period and hatch time in relation to time of egg disinfectants (before and after 6 hrs from egg laying) and among different disinfectants used. But, the hatchability % and TBC were reduced by using propolis 14% as egg disinfectant.

Background Bone grafts are frequently used to supplement bone stock and to establish structural stability. However, graft-associated infection represents a challenging complication leading to increased patient morbidity and healthcare costs. Questions/purposes We therefore designed this study to (1) determine if increasing initial S. aureus inoculation of bone allograft results in a proportionate increase in colonization; (2) assess if antibiotics decrease colonization and if antibiotic tethering to allograft alters its ability to prevent bacterial colonization; and (3) determine if covalent modification alters the allograft topography or its biological properties. Methods Allograft bone and vancomycin-modified bone (VAN-bone) was challenged with different doses of S. aureus for times out to 24 hours in the presence or absence of solution vancomycin. Bacterial colonization was assessed by fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and by direct colony counting. Cell density and distribution of osteoblast-like cells on control and modified allograft were then compared. Results Bacterial attachment was apparent within 6 hours with colonization and biofilm formation increasing with time and dose. Solution vancomycin failed to prevent bacterial attachment whereas VAN-bone successfully resisted colonization. The allograft modification did not affect the attachment and distribution of osteoblast-like cells. Conclusions Allograft bone was readily colonized by S. aureus and covered by a biofilm with especially florid growth in natural topographic niches. Using a novel covalent modification, allograft bone was able to resist colonization by organisms while retaining the ability to allow adhesion of osteoblastic cells. Clinical Relevance Generation of allograft bone that can resist infection in vivo would be important in addressing one of the most challenging problems associated with the use of allograft, namely infection.

This research compared how bacterial-, plant-produced silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and TH4 affected the eggshells microbial load and quail chicks' liver structure, embryonic mortality, and features related to hatchability. Ag-NPs were sensitized by bacterial and plant methods, and then identified by UV-visible spectroscopy, TEM, and FTIR spectroscopy. BAg -NPs were found in spherical shapes in size ranging from 7.09 to 18.1 nm versus multi-shape with size range of 25.0-78.1 nm for P-Ag-NPs. A total number of 624 eggs (in three equal groups) of Japanese quail flock were sprayed with TH4 as control, BAg -NPs and P-Ag-NPs. Thereafter, three eggs were sampled randomly from each group for determining important microbial groups. The remaining eggs were incubated according to the recommended incubation conditions. On the day of hatching, the percentages of hatchability and embryonic mortality were measured. Besides, five chicks from each treatment were slaughtered and the livers were utilized for ICP and histological tests. The effects of all three treatments on the microbial count in eggshells were comparable, according to the results. In addition, there was no negative effect on either hatchability percentage or embryonic mortality rate. The liver structure from both BAg -NPs and P-Ag-NPs treatments exhibited severe and moderate degeneration of hepatocytes, which may indicate possible hazardous effects of using nanoparticles. Using TH4 did not cause liver structure abnormality. In conclusion, using Ag-NPs for sanitizing hatching eggs effectively reduces the eggshell microbial count without affecting the hatchability percentage. Nevertheless, histological changes are appropriate to be considered as a safety parameter in Ag-NPs applications.

Olive pulp (OP), the residual material of a twophase olive oil extraction system, and effluents from hydrogen (EH 2) and methane (ECH 4) production, have been evaluated as soil amendments particularly for their impact on soil mineral nitrogen (N) dynamics, gross N mineralization, and soil microbial biomass N (N mic). Both N transformation and microbial growth were mainly influenced by the amount and quality of added organic carbon (C). Both OP and EH 2 , which contain more carbohydrates and lipids than polyphenolic compounds, stimulated NO 3 − immobilization during the early incubation period and increased N mic , saprophytic fungi, and N mineralization. On the contrary, soil amended with ECH 4 , which is characterized by the lowest C content but the highest content of polyphenolic compounds, behaved as the control; neither NO 3 − immobilization nor microbial growth were observed and gross N mineralization was stimulated only at the beginning of the incubation period. Bacterial plate count was significantly correlated with direct bacterial count and fungal count was correlated with N mic. Therefore, it is suggested that both bacterial and fungal plate counts may be used as indicators of the overall bacterial and fungal populations inhabiting soil, respectively. The knowledge of the impact of these materials on soil N dynamics is crucial for their correct use in agriculture because it has been shown that NO 3 − availability can be strongly influenced by the addition of different amounts and quality of organic amendment.

Artificial cornea transplantation, keratoprosthesis, improves vision for patients at high risk of failure with human cadaveric cornea. However, post-operative infection can cause visual loss and implant extrusion in 3.2-17% of eyes. Long-term vancomycin drops are recommended following keratoprosthesis to prevent bacterial keratitis. Evidence, though, in support of this practice is poor. We investigated whether prophylactic vancomycin drops prevented bacterial keratitis in an animal keratoprosthesis model. Twenty-three rabbits were assigned either to a prophylactic group (n = 13) that received vancomycin 1.4% drops 5 times/day from keratoprosthesis implantation to sacrifice, or a non-prophylactic group (n = 10) that received no drops. All rabbits had Staphylococcus aureus inoculation into the cornea at 7-12 days post-implantation and were sacrificed at predetermined time-points. Prophylactic and non-prophylactic groups were compared with slit-lamp photography (SLP), anterior segment ...

In this work, the role of in situ exopolysaccharide (EPS) production under different fermentation conditions on physicochemical, microbiological, textural and microstructural properties of sucuk was determined. For this purpose, the effect of EPS producing strains (control, strain 1, strain 2 and mixture) and fermentation conditions (fermentation temperature; 14, 16 and 18°C and time; 8, 12 and 16days) on physicochemical, microbiological, textural and microstructural properties were investigated using response surface methodology. In situ EPS production was observed to remarkably affect these properties while fermentation conditions were also seen to dominantly influence the physicochemical properties of sucuk, revealing that the ripening temperature appeared to be more determinant factor. EPS producing cultures enhanced the textural properties of sucuk which became harder, less adhesive and tougher. The microstructural analysis revealed the formation of web-like structure by in sit...

The eggs treatment process is one from which the result of incubation largely depends. In incubation for eggs disinfection are used different methods that affect the bacterial load. Choosing the most effective methods of eggs disinfection will depend on how used substances will influence on embryonic and postembryonic development of poultry. Currently the use of substances having disinfectant effect which would not have negative influence during embryonic and postembryonic development is one of the latest trends. As an alternative to chemical treatment methods it was proposed the use of propolis extract in hens’ egg incubation. The aim of research was to determine the influence of propolis extract on hatching indices used in incubation of hens’ eggs. At the end of the experience and data recording there was established that the maximum index of eggs hatchability was received as a result of using as a disinfectant the propolis extract in an amount of 2 ml/70 ml of water and 4 ml/70 m...

The effect of various washing solutions (acetic acid, lactic acid, and chlorine dioxide) and NaCl concentrations (2.5, 5.0, and 10.0%) on the stability of dry-salted olives (cultivars Gemlik and Edincik) during storage was studied. Vacuum-packed olives were stored at 4°C for 7 months and monitored for microbiological changes that occurred in the dry-salted olives during the dry-salting process and for their stability during storage. Microbial populations were enumerated using pour plating (for aerobic plate counts) and spread plating (for counts of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts and molds). Aerobic plate counts were &lt;2.5 log CFU/g for olive samples washed in chlorine dioxide at all NaCl concentrations. At 4°C, the population of yeasts and molds increased steadily during the shelf life in Gemlik olive samples washed with all of the solutions, except chlorine dioxide, whereas yeast and mold counts in Edincik olives decreased depending on the increase in salt concentration. Therefo...

The effect of various washing solutions (acetic acid, lactic acid, and chlorine dioxide) and NaCl concentrations (2.5, 5.0, and 10.0%) on the stability of dry-salted olives (cultivars Gemlik and Edincik) during storage was studied. Vacuum-packed olives were stored at 4°C for 7 months and monitored for microbiological changes that occurred in the dry-salted olives during the dry-salting process and for their stability during storage. Microbial populations were enumerated using pour plating (for aerobic plate counts) and spread plating (for counts of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts and molds). Aerobic plate counts were &lt;2.5 log CFU/g for olive samples washed in chlorine dioxide at all NaCl concentrations. At 4°C, the population of yeasts and molds increased steadily during the shelf life in Gemlik olive samples washed with all of the solutions, except chlorine dioxide, whereas yeast and mold counts in Edincik olives decreased depending on the increase in salt concentration. Therefo...

The microbiological monitoring of the water used for hemodialysis is extremely important, especially because of the debilitated immune system of patients suffering from chronic renal insufficiency. To investigate the occurrence and species diversity of bacteria in waters, water samples were collected monthly from a hemodialysis center in upstate São Paulo and tap water samples at the terminal sites of the distribution system was sampled repeatedly (22 times) at each of five points in the distribution system; a further 36 samples were taken from cannulae in 19 hemodialysis machines that were ready for the next patient, four samples from the reuse system and 13 from the water storage system. To identify bacteria, samples were filtered through 0.22 µm-pore membranes; for mycobacteria, 0.45 µm pores were used. Conventional microbiological and molecular methods were used in the analysis. Bacteria were isolated from the distribution system (128 isolates), kidney machine water (43) and reuse system (3). Among these isolates, 32 were Gram-positive rods, 120 Gram-negative rods, 20 Gram-positive cocci and 11 mycobacteria. We propose the continual monitoring of the water supplies in hemodialysis centers and the adoption of effective prophylactic measures that minimize the exposure of these immunodeficient patients to contaminated sources of water.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of temperature and packaging on ergosterol and Howard mold count (HMC) changes of tomato paste during storage. The other purpose of this study was to determine whether the measurement of ergosterol stability in tomato paste can be useful for the assessment of microbiological quality of tomato paste as related to the storage temperature (4, 20, 28, or 37°C) and time. Ergosterol analysis was done by using high-performance liquid chromatography. Tomato paste samples were packaged in either aseptic bags or tin boxes and stored at 4, 20, 28, or 37°C for a period of 10 months. The detection limit of ergosterol was 0.1 mg/kg. Measurements showed that packaging and storage temperatures of 28 and 37°C have a considerable influence on ergosterol and HMC changes in the product. The poor precision of the “percentage of discarded fruits” and HMC methods has increased the importance of ergosterol for the microbiological quality eva...

In this work the antimicrobial effect of Thymus vulgare and Origanum vulgare aqueous tea infusion on the total mesophilic bacterial count (TVC), psychrotrophic bacteria count (PBC) and enterococci count in the heat treated meat product - sausages were evaluated. To prepare 1 kg of sausage in experimental groups were used 10 cm3 of Thymus vulgare resp. Origanum vulgare aqueous tea infusions. It was found that value of TVC and PBC in the experimental groups of sausages with Thymus vulgare addition after 7 days of storage (4 °C) were 2.78 resp. 2.14 log cfu.g-1 and with the Origanum vulgare addition were 2.49 resp. 1.90 log cfu.g-1. The value of TVC and PBC in the control group of sausage were 3.13 resp. 2.72 log cfu.g-1. During 10 days of storage (4 °C) the TVC and PBC in the sausages with Thymus vulgare addition increase and reached the value 4.81 resp. 3.52 log cfu.g-1. In the sausages with the Origanum vulgare addition TVC and PBC after 10 days of storage reached the value 3.67 res...

Objective: Extreme drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (XDR-PA) with decreased susceptibility to polymyxin B (PB) has emerged in Singapore, causing infections in immunocompromised hosts. Combination therapy may be the only viable therapeutic option until new antibiotics become available. The objective of this study is to assess the in vitro activity of various antibiotics against local XDR-PA isolates. Methods: PA isolates from all public hospitals in Singapore were systematically collected between 2006 and 2007. MICs were determined according to CLSI guidelines. All XDR-PA isolates identified were genotyped using a PCR-based method. Time-kill studies (TKS) were performed with approximately 10 5 CFU/ml at baseline using clinically achievable unbound concentrations of amikacin (A), levofloxacin (L), meropenem (M), rifampicin (R) and PB alone and in combination. Bactericidal activity (primary endpoint) was defined as a $3 log 10 CFU/ml decrease in the colony count from the initial inoculum at 24 hours. Results: 22 clinical XDR-PA isolates with PB MIC 2-16 mg/ml were collected. From clonal typing, 5 clonal groups were identified and nine isolates exhibited clonal diversity. In TKS, meropenem plus PB, amikacin plus meropenem, amikacin plus rifampicin, amikacin plus PB exhibited bactericidal activity in 8/22, 3/22, 1/22 and 6/22 isolates at 24 hours respectively. Against the remaining ten isolates where none of the dual-drug combination achieved bactericidal activity against, only the triple-antibiotic combinations of ARP and AMP achieved bactericidal activity against 7/10 and 6/10 isolates respectively. Conclusion: Bactericidal activity with sustained killing effect of $99.9% is critical for eradicating XDR-PA infections, especially in immunocompromised hosts. These findings underscore the difficulty of developing combination therapeutic options against XDR-PA, demonstrating that at least 3 antibiotics are required in combination and that efficacy is strain dependant.

Control of microorganisms on hatching eggshell surface requires an effective disinfectant to kill the pathogens without injury to the live chick embryo. The present experiment was carried out to study the effect of hatching egg sanitization time by different disinfectants on some hatchability parameters. A total of 600 broiler breeder fertile eggs from a commercial broiler strain (Saso) aged 35 wk were reared on a deep litter system at a private farm in Gharbiya Governorate, Egypt. All eggs were randomly divided into three treatment groups of 200 eggs each. The eggs in the first group were kept as a control without treatment. While, the eggs in the second and third groups were subdivided into equal four subgroups treated by Propolis 14%, Ethyl alcohol 70%, TH4 0.5% and Virkon S 0.5 %., respectively, which, they disinfected before 6hrs from egg laying in the second group and disinfected after 6hrs from egg laying in the third group. Results revealed that there was no significant difference in egg weight loss during egg storage period and hatch time in relation to time of egg disinfectants (before and after 6 hrs from egg laying) and among different disinfectants used. But, the hatchability % and TBC were reduced by using propolis 14% as egg disinfectant.

O Repositório Institucional (RI) da Extensão Rural Gaúcha é uma realização da Biblioteca Bento Pires Dias, da Emater/RS-Ascar, em parceria com o Centro de Documentação e Acervo Digital da Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CEDAP/UFRGS) que teve início em 2017 e objetiva a preservação digital, aplicando metodologias específicas, das coleções de documentos publicados pela Emater/RSAscar.

Health and safety in work are main factors in all production processes, especially in the cattle dairy activities, considering there are many occupational risk situations in labor processes. The objective of this study was to analyze the context of the work developed by rural workers on cattle dairy farms in the center-western region of the state of Paraná, Brazil, and identify the occupational risks. This research utilized a qualitative-quantitative approach, in an exploratory way, through the study of multiple cases at 14 dairy farms, at which dairy was the main production. For the data collection 27 farm workers were interviewed and, subsequently, had their work monitored for observation and diagnosis of the working conditions. This diagnosis was performed through the Ergonomic Work Analysis. As main results, it was identified, mostly, ergonomic and casualty risks, besides the physical, chemical and biological ones. It was observed the irregularities of installation conditions were causing most of the above-mentioned risks, which did not increase the use of equipments for individual protection. These results show the need for improvement for rural properties, ranging from changes in infrastructure to organization issues. According to the results, there is a need for public actions to be developed by the Agricultural and Health Departments, aiming for an improvement for the health of rural workers, such as providing training in operational procedures and on labor health and safety.

Objetivou-se verificar o efeito de três volumes mensais de venda de leite, meses do ano, tipos de resfriadores e sistemas de ordenha sobre o ponto de congelamento do leite, o percentual de gordura, a contagem de células somáticas (CCS) e a contagem bacteriana total (CBT) do leite oriundo de produtores de um laticínio do Oeste do Paraná. Avaliou-se doze meses para cada informação (volume, gordura, crioscopia, CCS e CBT) com um total de 7.105 registros. As amostras para as análises foram coletadas pelos transportadores de leite junto aos produtores. As informações foram classificadas pelos volumes mensais produzidos (até 4.500 litros, entre 4.500-15.000 litros e mais que 15.000 litros), pelos sistemas de ordenha (manual, balde ao pé, canalizado e com transferidor) e tipos de resfriadores (imersão, granel e freezer) utilizados por cada produtor. O leite oriundo de produtores com volumes superiores a quinze mil litros mensais possui menor ponto crioscópico, teor de gordura, CBT e CCS. Ocorreram variações estacionais do ponto de congelamento, teor de gordura, CBT e CCS. As variações da CBT durante os períodos do ano são menores no leite oriundo de resfriamento a granel e de ordenhadeiras canalizadas. Existem fatores relacionados ao manejo dos animais e higienização dos equipamentos de ordenha e resfriamento que necessitam ser trabalhados junto aos produtores. Palavras-chave: Crioscopia, contagem bacteriana total, contagem de células somáticas, gordura

Segundo o IBGE, em 2004 o Paraná foi o terceiro maior produtor de leite do país com 2,395 bilhões de litros produzidos (aproximadamente 10% da produção nacional), tendo a região Oeste do Paraná como a maior produtora do Estado. Em 2003, a microrregião de Toledo/Marechal Cândido Rondon, do Oeste paranaense, destacou-se como a quarta maior produtora do país, produzindo 319 milhões de litros de leite, decorrente, principalmente, da atividade familiar de pequenas e médias propriedades rurais (IBGE, 2004).

Aimed to evaluate the effect of three volumes monthly milk sales, months of year, types of coolers and
milking systems on the freezing point of milk, fat percentage, somatic cell count (SCC) and bacterial
count Total (CBT) milk come from producers that sell to a dairy of Western of Paraná. We evaluated
twelve months for volume, fat, freezing point, SCC and TBC with a total of 7,105 records. Samples
for analysis were collected by milk transporters. The information was classifid by monthly volume
purchased from each producer (up to 4,500 gallons between 4,500-15,000 liters and more than 15,000
liters), by milking systems (manual, bucket foot, piped and protractor) and types of coolers (immersion, bulk and freezer) used by each producer. The milk got of producers with volumes exceeding fiteen
thousand liters per month has a freezing point and fat content lesser, but have a better CBT and CCS.
There were seasonal variations of freezing point, fat, CBT and CCS. Variations of CBT during periods
of the year are lower in milk derived from bulk cooling and milking piped system. There are factors
related to handling and cleaning of milking equipment and cooling that need to be worked with the milk
producers.
Key words: Crioscopia, fat, somatic cell count, total bacterial count

The objectives of this work were: 1) assess in the properties, the operation of 11 milking
systems by checking air intakes, frequency pulse and massages per minute, vacuum production and
lubrication of the pump, 2) determine the percentage correct answers to three multiple choice questions:
How many massages by the minute liner should perform to remove the milk?; Which water temperature
is recommended for washing the milking with alkaline detergent?; And each how many milkings is
recommended to change the liners rubber? 172 farmers were interviewed, of both sexes, in a field day of
cooperative Copagril, and both properties as producers surveyed belong to microregion of Marechal
Cândido Rondon, in west of Paraná. In measurements of milking, it was observed that 55% had anormal
air intake in the system, 64% had frequency per minute above of the recommended, 73% had vacuum
measured below the rated capacity of the pump and another 9% were measured above the vacuum rated capacity. The percentage of correct answers to three questions were less than 50%. It was found that most
producers do not achieve appropriate maintenance of the milking, and this results in malfunctioning of the
same. The answers to three questions revealed that the producers need more technical information and
training on the operation, maintenance and adjustment of milking, in view of the importance of this
equipment daily to perform a proper milking and to getting milk with low microbiological count.
Keywords: alkaline detergent, bacterial count, liners, maintaining milking, somatic cells